1 in 10 Employers to Drop Health Coverage

But more employers said they might drop coverage if state health insurance exchanges and other elements of the law are implemented and effective. Using Deloitte's Health Reform Impact Model, the Center for Health Solutions examined the effects of an employer exit from benefits, as well as three other possible scenarios resulting from the likely impact of the PPACA on health insurance coverage. Under the different scenarios, it was estimated that potentially between 23 million and 65 million individuals may join a health insurance exchange by 2020.

But for the most part, the survey found, employers aren't big fans of health reform. The majority, at 60 percent, say it's a "step in the wrong direction." Thirty percent say it's a good start. Most employers also say their company isn't well prepared to implement the 2014 provisions of the law. They also say they don't fully understand it.

Overall, employers believe the U.S. health care system underperforms. Thirty-five percent of employers surveyed grade system performance as an "A" or a "B," while 64 percent give it a "C," "D," or "F." Employers hold favorable views about the system's clinical capabilities and medical innovation and unfavorable views center on its wastefulness and high costs.

Employers say high health costs are driven most by hospital costs, followed by inefficiencies, unhealthy lifestyles, prescription drug costs, insurance company costs, and government regulation.

The study, conducted between February and April, surveyed corporate and human-resources executives from 560 companies currently offering benefits.